hazel nut trees in bloom ..

these catkins hang from a hazelnut tree .. another of the winter flowering wonders in the garden .. a trio of these trees live on the boulevard outside the garden ..

i didn't take much notice of them when i first began working with phil .. they were coming into leaf then, and to my uninitiated eye they were simply 'the trees on the boulevard' .. my focus was on the inner garden .. and phil .. not so much on what was growing around the edges ..  i was doing my best to encompass all plants in the garden,  but it wasn't until six months later that the hazelnuts came within my range of vision .. i'd been working underneath them and upon glacing up noticed what, i was informed by phil, was a nut .. from that point on i brought the hazel nut trees under my care ..

a couple months later, phil came to me and said he wanted me to see something .. so i followed him .. 'look there,' he said, pointing to the bare twigs of the hazelnut tree .. i couldn't see what he was pointing out .. 'the flower,' he said, emphatically .. i looked .. and looked .. and then suddenly i saw one .. !! ..

and then another one .. and another one .. brilliant tiny red sparks of light bursting off the twigs .. wonderfull ..

ever since then i've kept a close eye on these guys .. from the unfolding catkins .. to the miniscule flowers .. to the beautiful full nuts .. all in sync with the rest of the winter flowering garden ..